Does anyone have suggestions for shooting birds in flight, or anything moving for that matter. A tri/mon pod seems useless when tracking them, but maybe I am not using them correctly.
FYI, I have a Nikon D50, and usually use my Sigma 50-500mm lens to reach out far. Any tricks on metering and focusing would be greatly appreciated also. Thank You
Posted by Alan DeFelice on March 12, 2007 at 1:07 PM
Joe,
There are many things that can help.
Lens
First and foremost, you need a fast lens or a ton of light. Although the 50-500 is an excellent lens with great optics it is slow f5.6-6.3 maximum aperture. Optimally you want a f2.8 or at least an f4. This will make major differences in the speeds at which you can shoot. Do not give up on the tripod. Although they are dificult to use for panning they cannot be beat for stability and sharpness. IS on the Cannon works well, but I did not have as much luck with the VR on Nikon (Note I switched from Nikon to Canon I don't recommend it to others but made sense for me at the time).
Camera
I don't know the frames per second you have with the D50. If it is 3 frames or less Be prepared to be a little frustrated. If it is closer to 5 you will be very happy. Next make sure you are shooting multiple frames and not a single shot. So that as you depress the shutter release button it continues to click as many shots as it can in the amount of time you have it depressed given the length of exposure needed. This reduced movement to the camera body.
As for tripod heads, I used a three knob head and I know this is not the best.
Settings
I find that my eyes are not as good as they used to be. Most autofocus these days is better than my eyesight for this. I use the center focus spot exclusively and zoom or move to make sure I am not filling the entire frame with my subject so I have room later for artistically cropping a little. Also I use Aperture Priority as I like the control on my depth of field. Using the exposure compensation I can overide the matrix metering to achieve tough lighting and back lit shots or high contrast like white birds with a dark background. That said, for most large birds gliding you want at least 1/2000 of a second shutter speed if shooting in motion for frozen crispness. For ducks and birds where the wings flap at a much greater speed, I have found that 1/5000-1/8000 is nearly the only way for me to do this successfully without the use of flash. I won't cover flash as that is another dimention of complexity here.
Tripod
A side kick or Wimberly head is far better, but hey if we could all afford those we could also afford a 6K 600 mm f4 lens too. I can't. I find if I loosen the knobs enough for smooth movement but just tight enough that if I let go my camera would not fall hard against the tripod, I get smooth pans. This requires some adjustments to the way I hold the camera (body posture etc). I find that if I place my left hand on top of the lens almost holding it down Weight of my hand and arm only) to the tripod and my right hand to release the shutter, this helps reduce vibration. My right hand and body move in unisson to shift the direction in which the camera lens is pointing. If your pans are jerky or if they require too much pressure you will strain the joint of the lens to the camera, so make sure your tripod knobs are loose enough. Then just practice.
Stance
If shooting hand held, I find that my military training on rifle shooting seems to come in handy. You want to lock your left elbow into your gut tight. Take a T stance with you feet. Your left hand should form the rest upon which the camera lens sits and your right is there only to fire. Do not grip tightly. Hold on tight enough that the camera does not fall if you are bumped accidentally. (I always use my camera strap too just in case). Then pivot with your body. Keep you feet as stationary as you can and pivot with your body. Obviously you don't want to cork-screw yourself into the ground so practice and find the extent at which you can pivot comfortably before you do so with all your expensive camera gear hanging from your neck.
Practice!
That is paramount. You will find you need not lead your sujects like you do with skeet shooting. You are not shooting at 2.5x the speed of sound, but rather the speed of light. When the shutter releases that is what is captured. But, if you are not timing your pivot with the same speed of the bird, you will not have the composition you were expecting. Try to plan your background first and then time your shutter releases to start just before the subject reaches that point till just after. If shooting continuosly you stand a better chance of capturing what you had in mind.
Best of luck. i will submit a few I have taken as examples if I get the chance.
Wow! Great comment by Alan. I learned quite a bit there.I gotta try some of those tips. Though I have to say the Wimberly Head II that I bought new for $600 is not even the California sales tax on a Canon 600mm/4. It is such a great panning head that I'd strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to track birds in flight. I have it on a Manfrotto 3021 tripod. I also use the Sigma 50-500 and will be moving up to the Canon 500mm/4 shortly.
Posted by Alan DeFelice on March 12, 2007 at 6:17 PM
A fellow Skeet Shooter too cool. Well I did not mean to imply there was only one way to skin this cat. :-) Many of my keepers were done hand held as well. I think it depends upon the situation and the birds. If they are gliding and the path is known, I would try for the tripod (personal preference). If the path is less known and perhaps irradic or the behavior less predictable, hand held would be easier for me and my likely choice, but the speed must be pretty high. Very few people can shoot well hand held at slow shutter speeds, those that do have spectacular shots like Cindy. :-) I have seen your work, Cindy and you are an inspiration. I certainly could learn a thing or two from you.
Alan
Discussion
3 repliesFYI, I have a Nikon D50, and usually use my Sigma 50-500mm lens to reach out far. Any tricks on metering and focusing would be greatly appreciated also. Thank You
There are many things that can help.
Lens
First and foremost, you need a fast lens or a ton of light. Although the 50-500 is an excellent lens with great optics it is slow f5.6-6.3 maximum aperture. Optimally you want a f2.8 or at least an f4. This will make major differences in the speeds at which you can shoot. Do not give up on the tripod. Although they are dificult to use for panning they cannot be beat for stability and sharpness. IS on the Cannon works well, but I did not have as much luck with the VR on Nikon (Note I switched from Nikon to Canon I don't recommend it to others but made sense for me at the time).
Camera
I don't know the frames per second you have with the D50. If it is 3 frames or less Be prepared to be a little frustrated. If it is closer to 5 you will be very happy. Next make sure you are shooting multiple frames and not a single shot. So that as you depress the shutter release button it continues to click as many shots as it can in the amount of time you have it depressed given the length of exposure needed. This reduced movement to the camera body.
As for tripod heads, I used a three knob head and I know this is not the best.
Settings
I find that my eyes are not as good as they used to be. Most autofocus these days is better than my eyesight for this. I use the center focus spot exclusively and zoom or move to make sure I am not filling the entire frame with my subject so I have room later for artistically cropping a little. Also I use Aperture Priority as I like the control on my depth of field. Using the exposure compensation I can overide the matrix metering to achieve tough lighting and back lit shots or high contrast like white birds with a dark background. That said, for most large birds gliding you want at least 1/2000 of a second shutter speed if shooting in motion for frozen crispness. For ducks and birds where the wings flap at a much greater speed, I have found that 1/5000-1/8000 is nearly the only way for me to do this successfully without the use of flash. I won't cover flash as that is another dimention of complexity here.
Tripod
A side kick or Wimberly head is far better, but hey if we could all afford those we could also afford a 6K 600 mm f4 lens too. I can't. I find if I loosen the knobs enough for smooth movement but just tight enough that if I let go my camera would not fall hard against the tripod, I get smooth pans. This requires some adjustments to the way I hold the camera (body posture etc). I find that if I place my left hand on top of the lens almost holding it down Weight of my hand and arm only) to the tripod and my right hand to release the shutter, this helps reduce vibration. My right hand and body move in unisson to shift the direction in which the camera lens is pointing. If your pans are jerky or if they require too much pressure you will strain the joint of the lens to the camera, so make sure your tripod knobs are loose enough. Then just practice.
Stance
If shooting hand held, I find that my military training on rifle shooting seems to come in handy. You want to lock your left elbow into your gut tight. Take a T stance with you feet. Your left hand should form the rest upon which the camera lens sits and your right is there only to fire. Do not grip tightly. Hold on tight enough that the camera does not fall if you are bumped accidentally. (I always use my camera strap too just in case). Then pivot with your body. Keep you feet as stationary as you can and pivot with your body. Obviously you don't want to cork-screw yourself into the ground so practice and find the extent at which you can pivot comfortably before you do so with all your expensive camera gear hanging from your neck.
Practice!
That is paramount. You will find you need not lead your sujects like you do with skeet shooting. You are not shooting at 2.5x the speed of sound, but rather the speed of light. When the shutter releases that is what is captured. But, if you are not timing your pivot with the same speed of the bird, you will not have the composition you were expecting. Try to plan your background first and then time your shutter releases to start just before the subject reaches that point till just after. If shooting continuosly you stand a better chance of capturing what you had in mind.
Best of luck. i will submit a few I have taken as examples if I get the chance.
Alan